Another Lifetime
by LoveLifeForever
Summary: My take on the Reptilia28 Reaper Challenge. Harry has died for the twentieth time, and his Reaper isn't happy. Watch out Harry! That which doesn't kill you only makes you... stranger... or is it stronger?
1. Chapter 1 - Dead Again… Wait, What?

**Reptilia28 CHALLENGE**

STORYLINE:

Harry is killed at 17 during a fight with Voldemort. He's sent to his Death's office (explained later) and finds out that this isn't the first time that this has happened.

Harry's Death (who can have a human name) is mad at his arrival. Apparently, people dying before their time is a black mark on the various Deaths' records, and Harry is getting perilously close to getting this particular one fired.

When Harry asks what was supposed to have happened, Death goes off on a rant saying how he was supposed to have killed Voldemort, found his soulmate ("Some Granger girl...") and lived to be a centennial age. But since Harry keeps getting into life-threatening situations for one reason or another, he keeps dying before that happens. Harry is surprised about the soulmate part.

Death gives Harry a paper to sign that allows him to retain his memories (the previous times, he wasn't given this option for some reason). Harry is deposited to a previous time of the writer's choosing.

Eventually, Harry gets it right. He kills Voldemort, gets the girl, and lives to a ripe old age of whatever. And Death doesn't get fired.

REQUIREMENTS:

Harry had to have died at least three times before this one.

The memory keeping contract must be included.

Death must refer to Hermione as "some Granger girl" when Harry's soulmate turns up in his rant.

Obviously, must be H/Hr.

Have fun.

OPTIONAL:

Dumbledore's manipulations can be a factor in Harry's premature demises.

**Another Lifetime**

A Harry Potter Story

By LoveLifeForever

**Chapter One: Dead Again... Wait, What?**

Harry Potter woke up with a groan. Sitting up, he checked his body for injuries, running a hand through hair. It was just starting to show the salt-and-pepper look that all adding men with black hair began to get as they grew older. Over the years, his build had widened, natural growth and intense physical training reshaping his body to better survive the encounters with Voldemort and his army. He now stood at a solid six feet, two hundred pounds of power. His jaw line had hardened, the little remaining baby fat on his body giving way to corded, rolling muscle that got him more than a few female looks when he walked into a room. The movements learned from several forms of martial arts and weapons training had translated itself into a predatory grace when he moved. Strangely, despite the stress of war and living to sixty-seven, he really didn't look a day over twenty beyond his hair.

'Fuuuuck. Getting hit with that bludgeoning spell _hurt_! There has _got_ to be a better way to keep someone from getting hurt than just bodily throwing myself in harm's way. Where am I? Did the base get compromised... _again_? This looks a bit more mundane - maybe Hermione's old neighborhood?'

"Damn you, Harry Potter! Damn you to the furthest reaches of hell that your too noble ass will never see because you're so! Damn! NOBLE!"

Harry turned to take in one of the hottest women he had ever seen. While her hair was a gorgeous shade of red and her eyes a smoky deep green, Harry was easily able to overcome the disturbing resemblance to his mum when faced with the absolutely gorgeous body she had. His mum was beautiful, but this bombshell was like her very hot, wank-inspiring twin sister. Frankly, despite what he said about about purebloods, Harry _did_ think the forbidden aspect of incest made it hot, especially when pregnancy was avoided. This, of course, had _absolutely nothing_ to do with his fantasies about his all but adopted older sister Hermione.

The next moment his brain caught up with itself, and Harry realized he didn't have the first clue who she was. In a very fast reaction, Harry rolled sprang to one side of the room, placing his back against a corner and drawing his wand in one smooth motion, raising a shield with his off hand.

Now, most people would say that backing yourself into a corner was suicide, but that was only when you couldn't block everything coming. Because Harry could, it functionally eliminated his blind spot and ensured there wasn't collateral damage from blocked spells hitting one of his friends. This made duels with incredibly devious Death Eaters much easier.

"Who are you, where-"

That was as far as Harry got before he was blasted off his feet and into the wall right behind him. Everything went white as pain exploited from the back of his head. When he had finished coming back to his senses, Harry was bound in a thick wad of thin chains layered at least ten times over every inch of his body save his head. Pulling his eyes from his current predicament, Harry came face to face with a terrifying vision of wrath. Scary faces alone no longer intimidated him. Scary faces backed up by the terrifying power needed to lay him out effortlessly left him absolutely intimidated. The last Harry remembered, not even Voldemort was strong enough to just waste him like that anymore.

"You're not going to say another word until my rant is over, you understand! There are powers at work that surpass you mortals, and we have responsibilities that go well beyond evenan_ entire country __**and**__ its inhabitants_! _Don't_ presume to think that your place in Destiny's plans makes you indispensable, because the Powers that Be _always_ have more than one route to take. We have a reason behind _every_ action, and it is not our _duty_ to explain that to _you_. Do _not_ again presume to question those with Power in the Infinite Realms. Are. We. Clear." Harry nodded timidly. "Good, now where was I? Oh, yes, I remember..."

She rounded on Harry and performed a technique he had only seen done on television. It was not _at all_ funny in real life. Her head became three times the size of her body, her eyes gained a fiery glint, and storm clouds gathered behind her head as thunder rolled. It was like Gandalf's trick in the first movie, only a hundred times worse. It was in person, for one, and a head that big was more intimidating than Harry cared to admit after his run-in with Fluffy.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER, I'M GOING TO RIP YOU A NEW ONE SOMEDAY!" Her head resumed normal size, but everything else stayed. Thunder rolled as her anger continued to spike. "You seem determined to cause me trouble! This is the twentieth time that you have died, and it was your most pathetic death yet. The last few times you died were impressive enough that my boss didn't penalize me, but a banishing spell into a spike - not even a field of spikes or a spike pit, just _one_ spike sticking out of the wall!"

"That's just pathetic. With the amount of training you had with magic, it should have been child's play to avoid, but NOOOOOO! You're _Harry-Fucking-Potter_, too full of yourself to take it seriously. You actually managed to validate Snape's constant complaints about you _and_ your father - unacceptable. That bastard shouldn't be _allowed_ to be right. Oh, I hate that I can't even be properly mad at you! It's all the fault of that greased-up, butt toy and old Twinkie Whiskers. The bastards managed to single-handedly ruin several hundred lives, even if the old fart did his best to save thousands, and your fucked-up mind was their _finest_ achievement."

"Still, getting stupid and not paying attention - that's how your Godfather went out and he's _STILL_ getting shit for it from the Reaper Corps! I _won't_ be the next laughingstock, so we're going to be doing it a little differently." She laughed a little maniacally, the world going darker around her, before regaining a smidgen of composure. "The bad news is that this is the last shot we have. The good news is that the situation allows us a few... _concessions_ from the higher ups due to your place in Destiny's plans. We _could_ replace you, make no mistake, but it would be a pain in the arse unless we got some serious Higher Powers involved."

Harry finally decided that it was his turn to talk. "Woah, woah, woah, now hold up a minute here! Can I get a few questions answered before we move on? You're right, I got stupid - although the dying part will need to be explained - and I'm sorry for causing you grief, but I'm not sure I have all the info I need to help _fix_ this problem."

Harry really did feel bad, and for more than one reason. First, even though Harry had grown more able at dealing with emotional females, it still bothered him to see them upset. Second, the girl had a point - he had gotten very full of himself, believing his own hype that Death Eaters couldn't touch him... just like _Dumbledore_. Third, he felt guilty for dying at all. He had left his friends to face Voldemort, and he was creating problems for a woman who apparently cared whether he lived for reasons beyond the prophesy... or maybe not. Who knows how the afterlife works.

The woman paused, looked at him with narrowed eyes, before her whole body seemed to go slack as her anger petered out, waving her hand dismissively. "Yeah, go ahead and ask your questions. I'll answer your questions, but nothing directly related to the afterlife. That's strictly off-limits for outbound souls, no exceptions. That includes where we are right now - beyond the vaguest description of 'the afterlife' - and anything relating to the hierarchy that doesn't directly pertain to your return. Is that clear?"

Harry nodded, and the two turned in silence to just look out the window. For whatever reason, Harry suddenly realized that they were in an office on the seventh floor of the West Wing of Hogwarts that looked out to the Forbidden Forest, the Black Lake and the mountains surrounding Hogwarts Valley. He wasn't sure if the room had always looked like that or not, but it certainly made him feel at home. There hadn't been a nice peaceful view in that direction since the end of Harry's fourth year. The darkness at the edges hadn't become so... pervasive until then. After that, everything seemed to get... darker.

"You know," Harry pondered aloud, "if this had happened when I was fresh out of Hogwarts, I probably would have freaked out. I mean really, dying at seventeen as a virgin? That would have seriously sucked. I wasn't old enough to even legally drink back then."

"Yeah, you really did," the woman laughed to herself. "Totally couldn't handle the fact that you had all of one serious girlfriend up 'til that point and still hadn't snogged her at all – a pretty pathetic showing, to be sure. Bleeding hell, _Neville_ got that far by that point, and he was worse than you in the confidence department. I laughed my ass off that time. Over fifty years later, I _still_ laugh my ass off about it. You haven't really done much better in that department since then. You drink enough to get a giant regularly under the table - if the table were big enough - but you've had sex, what, once a year?"

Harry shrugged then did a double take. "Wait, I died a virgin that year?"

She laughed. "Harry, almost all of your deaths came while you were a virgin... pun intended. Still, what's with the serious lack in the sack?"

Harry stopped, thought for a second, then followed her into laughter, totally ignoring her question. "Th-that was h-h-horrible! Holy shit, where did you come up with such bad puns. Wait, don't tell me, it _was_ Sirius wasn't it? It was him. I can smell his style a mile off, the crazy old dog."

The mystery woman shrugged, which did interesting things to her... middle. "Yeah, he pops in from time to time. He's a bit irritating about it, but the idiot doesn't seem to mind the put downs that come with the territory of being eternal class clown."

Harry finally calmed down. "Okay, I've got a few questions that aren't directly related to the afterlife. First off, how did I die each time. You said it happened twenty times, and that several of them were impressive, but I guess I'm a bit morbidly fascinated with how I died. Secondly, what's up with the serious hard-on you've got with my crazy old Headmaster? The guy was an absolute bastard about some things, but it wasn't entirely his fault. Mostly his fault? Probably. But I can't lay it all on him - credit where credit is due and all that. I'm more likely to lay blame at Snape's feet, even if he was okay for a bastard."

"Okay, first off, you're right about the blame. The old fart is really irritating with his know-it-all attitude, but he's not evil. Second of all, don't ever call Snape okay. Don't even remotely put him in the same continent as okay. He was an evil lying bastard, through and through. EVERYTHING he did after graduating was for a nasty purpose, and don't let a few memories from a master of the mind arts prove otherwise."

Harry went for his knee-jerk response to this accusation, remembering the first time he had been wrong. "What about in first year? He saved me from falling off of my broom!"

"Yes, but WHY did he prevent you from falling? Was it to keep you alive? Yes, thus he could finally fulfill the life debt. But he wanted you to live for the same reason that Voldemort kept his victims alive - to prolong your suffering! It's why saving your life that time didn't pay off the debt, especially since it was no risk to him. Second year, he set you up to expose your parseltongue ability, which he found out about by searching your mind for all things magical during that first lesson. He saw the memory of the zoo and had been waiting for an opportunity ever since. Third year, he _made sure_ to prevent you from freeing your Godfather. Fourth year, he delighted in tormenting you and your friends. Fifth year, he _purposely delayed_ the Order finding out about you leaving the school. After that point, I _really_ hope I don't have to explain what all I find wrong with him."

"Okay, okay, I get it, Snape's an utter bastard. Actually makes me feel good about all the shit I gave him over the years and kind of justifies the Marauder's actions."

She got in his face at that comment. "Don't... don't try to justify what your father and his friends did to Slytherins. Snape wasn't the only one they tormented, and a fair few were driven into the Death Eaters when the Marauders joined Dumbledore. They were plain bullies until sixth year."

"It was actually Sirius's last 'prank' that ended most of the torment they heaped on others. Sirius was worse than James on that front. He _earned_ every year in Azkaban, make no mistake. The Marauders were nearly ended by the Werewolf Incident. Remus wouldn't speak to Sirius at all, and almost declared a Feud against him for it. He held it pretty harshly against Peter for never saying anything; the rat admitted to hearing the whole set up go down. James got away from that one with less flack than the other two, but Remus resented him for pulling them all into tormenting others in the first place. It was the _one_ thing the wolf did right with those three."

She leaned back, taking a sip from a glass of water Harry hadn't noticed before. "I still don't think much of Remus. He tried to run out on Tonks _when she was pregnant_ - _big_ no no. He left you alone for most of your life until he died. He let his friends judge and treat others in ways he knew weren't right, much like Neville did with 'the Golden Trio'. I excuse Neville's behavior because, unlike Remus, he never had support at home or at school. The kid got the shaft worse than you."

Harry ran a hand through his hair as he took all this in. "Looking back on it, we were pretty big asses in school. I let Hermione – _Hermione_ of all people - judge Luna on something as simple as believing in what others haven't seen when she and I could _both_ see something our relatives couldn't see. It's basically where Hermione and I were coming from with the Magical World?"

He sighed as he continued reminiscing. "My friendship with Ron was pretty bad, too. I let him and Dumbledore define my views. Granted, I didn't have much to go on at first, but I still should have looked into the political scene, in a broad sense, before committing myself to their paths. I just went with the flow without bothering to look at the facts for myself because it was easier, and that's what irritated _me_ about the people of Magical Britain."

Harry breathed loudly in frustration as he went on. "I never bothered getting an actual apology out of him for most of the crap he pulled, either. Then again, a couple of the nasty situations we got into must have pissed him off something fierce. I don't think I ever apologized to him about dragging him to Aragog's nest. I don't think I ever thanked him for doing that either... or going after the Stone with me... actually I really don't thank him for any of the support he gave, even if he could be a git at times. I guess after all that lack of support, I kind of had Fourth Year coming."

"You sure dropped the ball a lot when you got to Hogwarts, but a lot of the smaller problems you students had go back to the older generations. I still hold Malfoy and Cho responsible for their bullying of others, the same as I do the Marauders."

"When you led off with Malfoy, I was sure the other would be Crabbe or Goyle. Why Chang?"

"She was the leader of Luna's primary tormentors. They disapproved of Luna being different in a hypocritical manner similar to Hermione, but as purebloods they felt entitled to _doing something_ about it." Harry felt any attraction to the older Asian die right there.

"Your dad and Sirius were kind of the same way. Like I said, it took Remus giving all three the silent treatment for them to realize just what they had done. Sirius felt especially bad for the trouble he nearly caused Remus. If Snape had been bit, Remus and Snape would have been put down. In those days, werewolves were being used by Voldemort as enforcers, so the already harsh law took a very dim view on them. After that near miss, the Marauders never pranked their old targets without those people doing something to an innocent first. Unfortunately, they had already gotten the ball rolling. Half of the Slytherins gave up after a few hints, but the ones that didn't eventually became Death Eaters or supporters."

Harry felt sick. He knew his dad had been a bully, but he never really knew just how bad it had been. He was thankful to hear that they had changed, but it would forever color his view of them. It also explained a bit of Moony and Padfoot's guilt complexes later on. Both of them had probably felt responsible for their parts in what could be construed as recruiting. Maybe they really did deserve some of what they went through after the war.

"I don't think I ever realized just how bad they were at one point. I mean my dad did say 'it is more that he exists' about Snape, but it never really sunk in how much like Dudley they were. Granted Snape's an absolute bastard, so maybe the attitude was justified by then, but that's still a pretty messed up opinion to have about someone your own age. I felt like that about Malfoy when he really got me irritated enough to be hexing the shit out of him, but it wasn't a constant feeling until he joined the Death Eaters. It's not really nice to think about this, you know?"

"There's more," she solemnly said. "I know you didn't mean to, but do remember all the times in primary school where you wished just one of the kids would stop Dudley? You took the same stance in Hogwarts – Hermione, Neville, Luna. It hurts, but these are things I think you can fix with some effort. It's part of why I'm sending you back to relive it all from the beginning this time. Consider it a sort of purgatory to review the man you became and finally clean up your act."

Harry was silent for a little while, but inside his thoughts were spiraling around these bitter truths about himself and his father. It brought him to a question that had plagued his mind ever since seeing that memory. "What about my mum? Did she... Was she... Am I idealizing her, too?"

She smiled. "Harry, I can honestly say that you and everyone else don't say _enough_ about your mother. She was a Saint - that's with a capital 'S', too. That woman singlehandedly did more good for the people she knew than you, Hermione, Neville and Luna combined, although a few Healers were pretty close. If your mum had a chance, she probably would have joined their ranks for at least a few years and been the best of them. She wasn't perfect - no one but the Boss is - but for a mortal she did very well with the time she had. Consider this – your mum was friends with _Snape_ until fifth year, and Snape was responsible for splitting your mum and her sister up."

"She was a once-in-a-generation witch when it came to talent. There were a few that speculated Hermione's soul was a twin to Lily's but Lily was better at using her intuition - that's something her and James share with you."

"That being said, I'm not sure who would be called more brilliant. Her and Selene - Luna's mum - used to have debates about all sorts of things. Those two were the only ones that could keep up with each other. Luna didn't seem to inherit her mother's brilliance, but it was just her bizarre interests always hiding that intelligence. Luna's mum was more like Hermione, while Lily was more like Luna. It's pretty ironic, when you think about it."

"So in summary Harry, Lily Anne Evans was probably a better person than anyone will give her credit for. She got fierce when she was angry, and held onto that anger a few times to her regret, but she was also very good about forgiving people. She didn't forgive naively, but she didn't hold onto anger easily, either. James, Sirius and Snape were the only three to ever anger her to such a degree. Even Petunia was forgiven for the feud the two of them had in their teens."

Harry smiled as he reveled in the knowledge that no matter what, his mother was beyond reproach. "I'm glad I know a bit more about her. No one really talks about her when I ask them. I always wondered why..."

"You didn't act very much like her, so the few that did know her well - the Marauders can't really count themselves in that number - didn't want to speak up because they might have to tell you that she would be less than proud of you. It is still better than ashamed of you, but it would have hurt. Divination is one thing Harry, but Muggle Studies? Really? That was just dropping the ball."

Harry sighed. "I truly regret every moment I wasted in those classes. The only thing I liked about it was the fact that easy homework gave me and Ron a way to enjoy Hermione's studying and homework mania."

"It's like I said earlier Harry, you let Ron define far too much about you. You didn't leave room for anyone but Dumbledore, and even he had problems. Ron was a perfect example of a lot that is wrong with the standard wizard or witch in modern Britain. The only reason I don't blame you more for that is because it was Dumbledore's fault."

Harry started and stared at her. "What do you mean it was Dumbledore's fault. I did all of that mostly because I didn't want to lose my first ever friend."

"But why were the Weasleys the only family you interacted with for your first hour alone in the Wizarding World? You don't honestly think that Molly was lost that day you met her in the train station, do you? They had been driving that car in for years, and not even _her_ sense of direction is _that_ poor."

"Molly was another problem element, along with Snape and Dumbledore, but she wasn't anywhere close to in their league of trouble. She had driven away EVERY child she had by the time they were legal adults. She belittled and bossed Sirius _in his own house_, for goodness sake! The woman has issues with authority, with the obvious exceptionof _Dumbledore_, and it really showed in her children. But I'm getting off track here…"

"Dumbledore found out that Hagrid forgot to explain the confusion around nine and three quarters. The omission was a complete accident, but it gave the Head Bastard an opportunity to set you up with the right influence - the Weasleys. They had a large family, were poor and loved each other despite it all. It was exactly how you had always imagined your own family due to how you were treated growing up. He wasn't being evil, just trying to make sure you weren't influenced the wrong way after your encounter with Malfoy - that scared him more than you know. If Malfoy hadn't been so poor at people skills, he might have managed to befriend you."

"Anyway, that set up with Ron inadvertently ensured that would abandon your muggle half. His family was bigoted in their own sort of way, after all. Or did you forget the squib cousin that the Weasleys don't talk about? His response to anything not magical was that it was weird, stupid, or unnecessary - like Hermione's parents. It made sure you stopped considering the nonmagical - mundane - side of things at all."

"For instance, why exactly didn't you try to bring mundanes into it when Dumbledore died and the Ministry fell? At that point, it should have been your duty as a human being to bring in those elements that could have taken the Death Eaters on. The military is trained to handle this sort of thing. With the right information, they could have infiltrated the Death Eater homes and put them down like the dogs they were. It would have been simple to abuse the shit out of that Taboo and have a squad of snipers take out the Snatchers."

"What would they have done when wizards started throwing around spells and apparating all over the place?"

"In case you have forgotten, mundanes are better by far at dealing with threats than wizards are. Humans are the most efficient, effective and diversified agents of Death in any universe my department has come across. It's why we set up most heroes from the species rather than others that might be more capable. Humans are agents of cleansing, removing cancers that aren't even of their own making. Most other species seem to think that power is not meant to be used unless there is no other choice. Your species are a more just species than most others in that regard."

"As for the problem of apparating, consider the following. A thrown knife managed to catch Dobby in the middle of Apparating. A bullet could have hit the Death Eaters well before they knew what was happening. There's a reason the Statute of Secrecy went up, and its protections for _magicals_ collapsed when the Ministry did."

Harry just sat there, taking in the dump of information and accusations she had laid out. "I think it was mostly Ron. I was scared of what might happen if we tried to bring them in. Ron's family can barely survive as it is. Mugg- mundane economics would tear them to shreds. I kind of liked the simpler rules of the Wizarding world. If you were rich, famous or powerful, you could bend the rules. If you weren't, keep your head down and life would be happy."

"It... it was selfish and a little bit evil to think that mundanes and their children, magical or not, mattered so little that I could sacrifice them to maintain part of the status quo. It was about the only problem I ever had with the DC comics I tried reading. They never bothered putting down the crazy ones - the ones like Bellatrix - for good. Pissed me off how little they cared for the ones that just 'got in the way'. Collateral damage, my ass!"

She smiled. "I'm glad you are starting to remember the lessons you learned as a child. Hopefully by the time you get to Hogwarts, you'll have remembered all the other ones you forgot over the years. Now, on to more pleasant topics. We need to discuss what all is going to happen from here on out. You weren't supposed to die until at least two hundred years old, and that's really a minimum."

"But Dumbledore was really powerful and he looked almost ninety after only a hundred and fifty years!"

The redhead chuckled. "I keep forgetting what Dumbledore did to you as far as basic knowledge goes. Dumbledore wasn't nearly as old in body as he looked. That was just a nifty bit of transfiguration on his skin and hair to help him fit the stereotype of powerful old wizards. It also made opponents underestimate him. Underneath that disguise, he didn't look a day over fifty. He would have looked better if not for his considerable encounters with the Dark Arts courtesy of his friendship with Grindelwald. Consider the fact that he _also_ had a strong liking for candy and alcohol. Dumbledore never learned restraint, and he _still_ looked that good under the disguise."

"Being magically powerful really does have some perks. Don't you recall Madame Marchbanks? I can tell you as fact that she wasn't stronger than Dumbledore, but she's been an examiner since the man was IN HIS TEENS! If she can survive at least two hundred years like that - you don't get made an examiner under fifty - there's no doubt in my mind Dumbledore could have pushed four hundred."

"While we're on the topic, I don't want you to blame Dumbledore too harshly for what happened. It's true that he wasn't as great a man as everyone paints him to be, but a lot of the nasty stuff can be blamed on Snape. The old fart did think you had to die because of the Horcrux in your scar and the Prophecy, but that's mostly because he hasn't found any other way to do it. The other things, however, like favoring the Slytherin bullies who flat out didn't deserve it and not doing anything about the public relations problems you had each year, were all Snape."

"You see, while Snape was travelling after graduation, he came across a person who knew the Dumbledore family and managed to wheedle some very sensitive information out of her about Dumbledore's past. He then confirmed this and learned some more information of a slightly less sensitive nature and others of a greatly more sensitive nature. Most of that information he later gave to Rita Skeeter for her little exposé on Dumbledore. Of course she had to go interview the sources herself to make sure she had an alibi. She couldn't have people thinking that she got her info from a traitorous rat like Snape after he killed Dumbledore."

"She was wrong about one thing, though. Dumbledore wasn't gay; he was bisexual. After his disastrous relationship with Grindelwald and the fallout with Arianna, he swore off love for himself as a kind of penance. For the longest time he was terrified of loving anyone again and thus made some of the same mistakes when he began to love you as an adoptive grandson. I think he could have done a lot of good for you and Hermione if he had taken you two under his wing."

"Snape was no patriot, and certainly not a hero. He was a villain, through and through. The so-called plan to have him kill Dumbledore was a lie. The old man was fighting it a lot more successfully than Snape would lead you to believe. Half the reason it took so long is because Dumbledore simply never bothered learning the Dark Arts because he feared the seductive power they had wielded over his friend Gellert. In the end, Snape killed Dumbledore to ensure the old man couldn't get back at him for leaking the secrets to Rita. That final encounter – "Severus, please" – was after he had just shown Dumbledore his sins and his true loyalty to himself."

"All of that stuff Snape found out could have had a powerful effect on his standing in the Magical World of Britain, and it was imperative that he not be compromised at that time. A lot of bad things still happened - Death Eaters that paid off Snape weren't bothered by Dumbledore when they claimed the Imperius curse - but it could have been a thousand times worse. It was true that Dumbledore was powerful, but the Death Eaters had no morals. If they had smelled the smallest bit of blood in the water, they would have fed like sharks. Dumbledore compromised and was thus able to keep a great deal of influence. He worked Snape to his advantage, but was never able to be sure that he could get rid of all of the backup plans Snape had."

"His use of willful ignorance was a defense against the guilt he would have felt at knowing that he was powerless to stop Snape without hurting countless others. He never knew how badly you were treated, but Snape did. He had watched gleefully over the years and had even put a malice curse on the Dursleys. While I doubt they would have ever been loving without you saving their lives from a mundane death, Snape made it worse. He ensured you lived in the cupboard, ate less than your fill, and got beat whenever magic happened. You often thought to yourself that wasn't normal, and the Dursleys always wanted normal. Dudley only needed his upbringing to become what he was. It's why he was so changed after the Dementors visited. Well, Dumbledore's Howler also somehow hit the perfect pitch to shatter the vase the curse was on."

"How did he curse them? I thought the blood wards protected me and them from any who wished me harm?"

"First of all, the blood wards were weakening until your magic grew enough to sustain them. Second of all, Dumbledore counted on Death Eaters being unable to target specific mundane folk without a magical child to guide then to it. It worked for the most part, but there were still several that managed through the magical side of things. Snape didn't need to. He simply questioned McGonnogall and then staked out the neighborhood for a week to catch Vernon outside the wards. Snape then gave him a vase enchanted with the malice curse and placed several more spells to make sure it didn't move once placed. The wards simply kept _people_ out. Like many wizards, Dumbledore overlooked the obvious. Owls with cursed mail were turned away, but because Vernon brought it in, the wards ignored it."

"Snape took a sick pleasure in knowing he had gotten one over on Dumbledore. The only ward was the blood ward, but it was a semi-intelligent ward like those at Hogwarts, so Dumbledore thought it would stop all harm. It stopped just about everything, but Snape's vase outwitted it. Just like Tom's diary outwitted Hogwarts."

"The relationships between you and Ginny and Ron and Hermione were actually some of the most painful things Snape witnessed - kudos to you for that, by the way. He saw two halves of a reenactment of James relationship with Lily, both parts starting to come together in Sixth Year. On one side was the James and Lily look alikes - you and Ginny. On the other side was the pureblood and first-gen getting together after five years of sniping at each other and leaving the dark, broody half-blood out."

Harry blanked out then shuddered as he considered this. "That's... kind of creepy to be honest. It puts my relationship with Ginny in a whole new light. I'm going to put off thinking about that for a bit; back to Snape."

She nodded. "Snape's blackmail doesn't completely excuse Dumbledore, but it does excuse a lot. Snape hated you and most of the rest of the world. He became a sociopath. The difference between him and Voldemort is that Voldemort was much more powerful and created Horcruxes. Snape retained his intelligence to hide the more twisted actions from those that would be willing and able to take action against him."

Leaning back, she continued. "Dumbledore did a lot of things wrong, but most of them were out of ignorance, not cruel intent. You're not innocent in that regard either. The good news in all of this is that, if we catch Snape early enough, we can stop him before most if the victims have a chance to feel his evil... in more ways than one. It also means we have a chance to free Dumbledore of that harness. Now where were we before _this_ tangent happened? Ah yes, the Stone."

"The Philosopher's stone was valuable for creating the Elixir of Life _for a reason_. The Elixir of Life was nice because it let people retain their _youth_, not just their life. Magic will let anyone stay alive as long as they want, but most don't want to once they start getting old. It would have also have been amazing for medicinal purposes. I don't know if they ever tested this, but due to how it works, the Elixir could have cured werewolves. A thought for the next time you get a chance at the Stone. Between it and your own magical power, just imagine what you could pull off."

With a smile she went back to reviewing an obviously much used report. "Okay, you should have offed Voldemort, lived to at least two-hundred and fifty, and had a boatload of kids and grandkids after you married one of your soul mates - their recommendation is that Granger girl, but I don't see why the other three couldn't fit in too."

"Wait Hermione, three others, CHILDREN... Actually the last one makes sense. Please explain the first two."

She leaned back in her chair before standing up to pace a bit. "Okay, have you ever heard of the 'match made in heaven', a couple that seem so perfect for each other that they seem to just mesh without any thought or effort?"

Harry nodded, and she continued. "It's a load of shit, made for cheap romance novels. Every relationship needs work if it's going to stand the test of time. Admittedly, some do take less work than others."

She pointed to herself. "That's where the 'match made in heaven' comes in. It is only true in that we do look for who could match up best based on certain factors I can't talk about. Everyone has more than one person that could match up so perfectly with them. For most it's just two. In your case it is four. There was this one crazy idiot a couple centuries back that had over twenty and somehow kept _creating_ more. Man was that knuckleheaded blonde a headache, or at least that's what the people for that universe say. The kid was like an O-Negative for soul bonds."

She shook her head to clear it off the crazy thoughts and continued. "On rare occasion, one of the matches is born in another country. On even more rare occasions, one is born _and_ raised in another country. For the most part, however, people mesh with those from the same culture they were raised in."

She took a breath and looked Harry in the eye, a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Now, for those that find these people who just match them so perfectly, certain things have been known to happen. They might have a sixth sense about when their mate is in danger. Other times, they can sense each other's emotions or even seem to hold silent conversations. The ones good at mind magic have been known to have quite literal silent conversations. Bonded witches and wizards have been known to share and boost magic when in desperate need, as well as gifts or talents unique to one of them."

"Now, I could tell you who the other soul mates are, but I honestly think you could do without the pressure of a 'destined' relationship or four. I promise you knew all of them by the time you died this last time through."

"That should cover what _should_ have happened. Now let's get on to what's _going_ to happen."

"I'm sending you back to relive your time at the Dursleys. You'll keep all your knowledge from this round as well as your skill with magic. Don't worry, as I said before there's more of a reason to reliving it than just the purgatory part. I'll explain that when you get there. We've got other things to discuss. I'm going to be sending you back with a few items to keep you occupied and healthy during your time there. Until you're old enough to take care of yourself - and even afterwards - these will come in handy. Each covers a need that you couldn't otherwise handle."

"The first is The Book. It will have knowledge on anything you want to learn about. You won't be strong enough physically or magically to do much in your early years, so I'm giving you something to do with all that time. Just pick a few things to learn. There are certain branches that are pure theory, and knowing the theory might help with the practical in other branches. It's not just about magical things. You can request mundane things too if you just need an explanation about something. I figure it will come in handy during your years in primary school."

"The second will be The Supply Box. It will always have food in it when you need it. I think this was probably your biggest problem in your younger years. Don't worry - anyone who wants to take it won't be able to find it, and it will always come to you. It only has food, though; you're on your own for potions."

"The third thing I'm going to give you is an Apparating charm. It will be in the form of a silver bracelet that clips to your wrist. This will allow you to get where you need to go without a problem. It has a few nifty features to it. First of all, you will be invisible when you first arrive. This will let you visit mundane places if you need to. The second feature is that it will be capable of taking you somewhere as long as you have a vague idea of where it is, like 'the largest Harrods store in London' or 'a train station near Glasgow'. The vaguer you are the more room it has to work with and the less likely you are to find exactly what you are looking for. That way you don't need a clear picture or coordinates for wherever you are going. It should be very useful for trips to London. Read Hint: Get some decent clothing, damnit." Harry laughed at her 'subtle hint'.

"The fourth thing I'm going to give you will be absolutely priceless in the years to come. I'm going to send you back with your mokeskin pouch. I've added a few nice touches to it as well. It will have a Notice-Me-Not charm to keep your relatives from being pests about it and allow you to put stuff away in front of mundanes. On top of the Undetectable Extension charm, it will have an Ever-Expanding Lip, widening the mouth of the pouch to be as wide as you need it to be. A fair warning: it won't automatically bring whatever you want to your hand. You're going to have to figure out how to get it organized on your own. Consider it motivation to start studying."

"On the positive side, this will make your shopping trips virtually risk free. You can toss your money pouch or wallet in after throwing in all of your shopping bags without having to lug everything to an out of the way spot. It'll have a glamour spell on it to keep the cameras from seeing anything too fishy. If it looks like you should be walking awkwardly under the weight, it will seem like you are until you are out of sight of any cameras."

"The last thing I'm going to do is unlock that incredible brain and magic your parents gave you. Both of them were horribly affected by Voldemort's soul piece sitting in your head. You were using them daily to fight off that thing, and it took a good chunk of your brainpower and magic to keep it occupied. It helped in its own way, but I think you'll be fine at this point. It's why things got worse after Snape started mucking up your mind; you were splitting your mind three ways at that point just to try and keep him out. With the constant struggle it put out before gone, you should be able to take out Snape before he hurts any of the Slytherin girls."

"The little bugger is going to stay there, but I'll split its activity. The magic leech will work during the day and brain leech will work during the night. It'll stop on your thirteenth birthday. That should be far enough for it to have done its work of exercising your mind and magic daily. After that, I'll block its effects fully and leave the link to Voldemort for you. It'll still be a get out of death free card and leech your magic before bed every night, but your mind will be utterly unaffected."

"Beyond all this, I think I'll save the rest of the info for after you go back. It will give us something to talk about during your early years. Here goes." Squaring her body and clapping her hands, the redhead held steady as light began shooting out of the floor in a complex design to surround Harry.

Just as it looked like he was going to leave, Harry interrupted her. "Wait, two more questions. What's with the light show?"

"Oh that's just something cool I copied from this show I snuck a peek at during a short holiday to Japan this past Yule. It's not doing anything; it just looks very impressive."

Harry smirked. "Consider me impressed. Just one more: what's your name?"

She smiled coyly, walked over and kissed him, letting her tongue slip in for a second when he moaned. Pulling away and giggling like mad as he faded out of the astral plane, she spoke. "Why Harry, I'm your little sister - Rose Marie Potter."

Harry, fast fading into the ether, blamed Luna's old rhyme: 'Incest is the best, put your sister to the test.'

A/N: I know a few of you are going to rag on me for that last one, but it's going to be the last time that happens. It was a one-time prank on Harry from his sister, so don't worry about it going further later on without _a lot_ of reader input suggesting it. She is still going to be a serious tease, though. It'll be explained in the next chapter. And WOW, over 7500 words in one chapter. This will probably set the tone for future updates, as well.


	2. Chapter 2 - Now Reentering the… Baby?

Chapter 2 – Now Reentering the… Baby?

November 1st, 1981 – Number 4 Privet Drive

When Harry came to, he found himself floating on a familiar road in front of a _very_ familiar house. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonnogall were taking animatedly about what had happened that night. As he was listening, Harry heard a sound like a dull roar, growing with every passing second. Just a few seconds later, Hagrid arrived with baby Harry in tow.

Harry was very startled when a voice spoke from right beside him. "You were such a cute baby. What happened to you?"

Harry growled at Rose before answering. "I grew up and became sexy."

"Yeah, _eventually_, but what about all that time between age six and sixteen? You were a knobby-kneed little bugger when you were little, and you didn't really start filling out until you were almost eighteen. About the only thing you had going for you was your eyes, and they were covered with thick glasses. Between the looks and your attitude, it's no wonder it took you so long to get laid."

"Oh hush you; it's bad enough you were teasing me the whole interview only to tell me you're my sister at the end. Now you're trying to get me talking about my sex life? No, no way, not gonna happen. And what _was_ that, back in the office? You're my bloody sister!"

"Well I didn't exactly grow up on Earth now did I? I wasn't born when mum died, but the higher ups decided I was alive enough to deserve an afterlife. You know, I just realized that I beat a forced abortion. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, morals about not kissing your sister. I have two things in response to that. First of all, I didn't grow up down there, so there was no taboo about kissing siblings. I didn't _have_ any siblings to kiss, so no one explained until it was too late for me to care."

"But why don't you look old…er. Yes, that's what I meant to say. Why don't you look old_er _than you do? I've guessed that I have the whole Master of Death thing apparently preventing my aging, but what's your- ow! Bugger it all, what was that for?"

"You never ask a lady her age, Harry. As to the sister thing, you're forgetting the second half of Luna's little rhyme: _If you put her to the test, just make sure to clean your mess._ No pregnancy, no problem." At this point Rose adopted a sly look before switching to a pouty face. "Besides, what would Luna say if she found out you were being mean to your little sister?"

He just huffed at her and ignored her question. "You are a minx. You're an evil little minx that is trying to give her poor older brother a complex, considering the only girls I ever wanted to go out with – bar one nightmare that is obviously the product of temporary insanity-"

Rose chose to interrupt. "_cough_Cho_cough."_

"_Except _for that horrible mistake, the _rest_ all seemed like sisters to me befoooore... That is the end of that line of thought. I've already _got_ a sister complex; I just never _knew_ it. Let's change the subject. Oh look, shiny, and they're about to leave."

Sure enough, everyone but Dumbledore had left. With a few quick flicks of his wand, Dumbledore sent a few spells into Harry before clicking the Deluminator to restore light to the block. "Good luck Harry Potter."

Harry held his breath for a few seconds then let it out, then repeated it, slowly removing his anger the only way he knew how. "Rose, what were those last spells Dumbledore sent at me?"

Rose frowned and beckoned Harry to follow her over to baby Harry. Waving her hand through the air above Harry before her face set into a furious scowl. "That stupid, idiotic, interfering, manipulative old bastard has gone too far! I'll flay him alive! No, I'll draw and quarter him. No I'll flay him alive and _then_ draw and quarter him and then _castrate him_! I'll..."

What followed was a list of punishment that Harry figured would have Bellatrix Lestrange taking notes. By the end of it all, he was well and truly terrified of the merest _thought_ of angering his sister. "Ummm, Rose, I would still like to know what the old man has done this time. Was it something new, or did you just not remember it from last time."

Rose scowled at nothing for a second before letting out a deep breath. "It's not new – haven't made any changes yet – but I probably missed it because I never reviewed this time of your life very thoroughly. Screw second chances, that, that… ooooh calling him a 'man' would be an insult."

She took a calming breath or five before continuing. "What he just did is threefold – again, good intentions with bad results. First, he placed some sort of emotional binding; it would stop accidental magic for all but the most extreme emotions. It detects the heaviest emotions by the high levels of adrenaline going through the bloodstream. Given how tied to emotions the human mind is, it likely left mental damage as well. Your mind was fighting just to _feel_ things all the time. When you flew, the high adrenaline rush allowed it to bypass this and truly let you feel free."

"That one has to go now. I'll leave it's trigger function in place – explain later – but the primary function _has _to go for the sake of your mental health. It's probably been there since this very moment the last time through and never went away until you died. That's at least half the reason for your incredibly poor showing in Occlumency. The fact that you learned to control your emotions so well at the Dursleys' even when your mind was fighting to _feel_ that anger unless adrenaline started flowing is a minor miracle in itself."

"The second spell worked with the first spell by dispelling your concentration and disrupting your memory. Any time you tried to concentrate – an action that might eventually break the first spell – it would cause a plausible distraction. It also made it difficult to remember things in general… or like major and minor wrongdoings of the Dursleys in particular. This made it stupidly – and I _do emphasize_ the stupid part – capable of forgiving others."

Rose sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Unfortunately, it also impacted your schooling, making studying less appealing for you, especially heavy theory work. Fortunately, it was linked back to the first spell, so any time your emotions ran high or adrenaline rushed through your body, it released a bit of its hold to allow you to survive – talk about a new take on the whole 'fight or flight' reaction – but it came back in place when you weren't high on adrenaline – like studying. That's also part of why you were so good at Quidditch. When it let go in that first game, you came alive in a very real manner."

"This spell can stay for now, as it will be a great training tool. During practical work, you can use that to make things more difficult, force them to become instinctive. Like Neville's wand, this will help your spell casting once the handicap is gone. The difference is that your spells stayed in place for all that time after Dumbledore's death. You trained under them, mastering the magic you did with that handicap constantly in place."

"It also explains your unexpected ability in high-stress situations. Whenever you felt pressured to perform a spell you had been having difficulty with – the Patronus is the best example – the adrenaline opened the channels necessary to perform at your peak. I'll hold off whenever you're doing heavy theory reading – it'll only hurt for stuff like arithmancy, runes, and normal schooling – but it goes back on for all practical work. When we release it before Hogwarts, you will truly be a force to be reckoned with, even for the monsters in the Magical World."

"The third spell was bad - a magical binding spell – but not as bad as the second. It basically contains all but a small fraction of your magic. You would have enough to survive, but not much more. Fortunately it was also linked it to the emotional block by routing a thread of magic into your mind. Any time the first spell reacted strongly, it would temporarily let some of your power out to ensure you stayed alive. Combined with the concentration, you were capable of a great deal when adrenaline was running. Most people – including you – chalked it all up to that. The fact you were so powerful in school probably caused Dumbledore to forget that it was still there. He thought that you must have broken it down over the years."

"Unfortunately, I don't know if you ever _did_ break it or if your magic just grew _that much_. It's hard to measure that sort of thing after you're dead, even if magic is linked to the soul. Oh well, we can work with this. We'll just have to loosen it gradually this time around. Just think of it as a magical exercise."

Harry whined a bit, worried about going for so long at a fraction of his strength. "These next few years are going to suck, aren't they? I'm going to be learning a lot of theory, going to primary again, doing all the chores, living in a cupboard and learning little to no practical magic."

"Hey, I'm the one that's going to have to change your diapers," Rose replied. "Doing it right isn't sunshine and daisies. It's going to take _work_ to fix the things that went wrong. Besides, I already told you that without the malice curse the Dursleys couldn't have thought themselves normal and continued to be as cruel as they were. Get rid of that and you're golden."

Harry stared at Rose in mute horror, choosing to focus only on the negative in all that. "Diapers? I'm going to wear diapers again? No, oh no, nonononononoooooo..."

Rose laughed and smacked him on the arm. "Oh don't be so dramatic all the time. It won't be for very long – probably a year or less depending on how fast your coordination improves. Just think of it as family bonding time. Petunia will probably be pretty good about making sure you get changed at least one a day, but I don't trust her for more than that, even _with_ that vase gone. So, I'm going to feed, clothe and change you until you can do it on your own."

"That will start by the time you're four or so and finish around five. After that, you're on your own. I'll visit on the weekends to make sure you don't go insane, but for the most part this is your time to reflect on your life. Think about what you could do differently; learn something new; or just have some fun. Just don't waste your time. In case you're wondering, moping is solidly in the 'wasting time' zone. As is brooding, pouting, whining, or anything else the Pig or Ferret would do regularly."

Harry groaned to himself. "Fine, fine, no moping around or brooding moodily. I'll try to learn something fun."

"Why not try your hand at being a metamorph like Tonks? You managed to change your appearance before, remember your hair? You haven't had to cut it since. In case you've forgotten, you were running on low and using magic to combat malnutrition back then. Magical gifts won't always manifest itself at birth like it did with Tonks and Teddy. Nor does it always mean you are constantly changing like they did. You could also try your hand at a few other time-consuming things, like learning to be ambidextrous. Can you imagine how big a boon it would be to be capable of using both hands with equal ability? If you want, go crazy and try for a few degrees with all that spare time you'll have. I don't imagine normal school work will pose much problem the second time through. Maybe you could finish your A-Levels this time around and go for Uni?"

Harry shrugged. "Well I guess the first thing I need to do is get started with reliving my life, eh?" With that he touched um his finger to baby Harry's head. In a flash, Harry was sucked into the baby's body. He passed out an instant later.

Harry woke up to find himself lying on a small pile of blankets in Dudley's bedroom. He looked around, utterly astonished not to have found himself in the cupboard under the stairs, as he had no memory of ever sleeping anywhere else.

'Potter you are an idiot. The Dursleys hated magic, but even _they_ wouldn't have left me in there at not even two years old. They would _not_ have wanted to find a corpse after forgetting about me or have to explain my condition to a doctor if I got sick. I just couldn't _remember_ anything else.'

'Also, now that I think about it, I doubt they were given a stipend for my care. I wonder if that would smooth things over a bit with them. Vernon worked as the Director, but he still held by honest business practices. Only getting the child and seeing nothing from the parents wouldn't have sat right with him. He might have assumed everything else was stolen. Gives credence to the whole 'unemployed' claim of his. Now that I'm here, I can at least try not to be a hassle to Aunt Petunia. There sure as hell isn't any chance of Dudley doing the same any time soon. It's amazing what finding out about the vase did to my issues with them...'

It was here that Harry ran into the first of what would be several _very_ annoying problems: he couldn't move very easily. Oh he could pull himself up, maybe even walk a bit, but his balance was all shot to hell.

'Damnit! How am I supposed to make things better now?'

His sister's voice answered. "By learning how to walk. You would think some of that nice stuff called common sense would have penetrated your skull, but I see the Muggle Intervention was more necessary than I thought if wizards have managed to make you forget that as well. Your body is totally different from before, so _of _course you're going to have to relearn how to talk. Don't worry so much, normal people do it all the time. You can, too. We just have a lot of work to do."

Harry looked up at her and rolled his eyes. 'This is going to be a _really_ long year, isn't it?'

Rose shrugged. "You already said that dummy. And yes, you'll have to learn how to walk again, but you'll also have all this time to find out the answers to those questions in experimental magic you wanted to try out before your first year. You could try to get ahead on learning about math and the sciences. I know how boring it all sounds, but I think you might find more use for understanding the universe than magic would have you believe. Besides, without the concentration-breaking spell, you might find it more fun than you thought. Lily was no idiot, after all."

"One final note: consider working the stock market. You know what companies are going to become very wealthy in the future, so you know what to invest in. If you're feeling especially generous, clue Vernon in to the less lucrative market shifts. You might not become filthy rich without an in-depth knowledge of what happened when, but you at least have an _idea_ of when to get in, even if getting out might be problematic."

Harry shook his head as best he could. 'Not really, I just pull half from Microsoft and put it into Apple a year or two before the iPod comes out. Hopefully, Apple won't even be an issue before Voldemort and the Death Eaters have been dealt with. Sure, it won't work out for maximum profit, but they'll be so high already that the difference well be negligible, especially when used in the Magical World. Plus, if Microsoft stock rises a bit more, it will make my withdrawal less suspicious.'

Rose nodded. "Well that's covered, and color me impressed. Now back to the immediate issue. You need to learn how to use your body. Given the fact that this will take a while and you will be easily tired until you get used to moving certain muscles, we will use that larger amount of time your body will be recovering in to organize your mind. You should be able to get quite memories of your parents from the happier times, since they died so recently for this body."

"We'll move on once I think you've done one of those as well as can be expected, but neither will be called complete until they are perfected. For the mental arts, a fully functioning mindscape will be the minimum. For physical peak, I mean the balance of the Toad, the flexibility of the Snake, the strength of the Slug, the speed of the Flash and the stamina of Naruto. I want you to idolize Rock Lee, become him, and surpass him."

Harry stared. 'The bloody- How do you know about-'

Rose smirked. "Death Angel, Potter. I've been keeping a close eye on you for years. I know you can achieve that sort of physical ability. It'll be hell on earth, but you have magic on your side. There are _very_ few things magic cannot do without great sacrifice and only one thing that it _will not_ do. Besides, you didn't think I would know about your little manga fetish?"

Harry flushed, not an attractive thing on a baby. 'It's not a fetish! They're just more satisfying to read than comic books. They've got way more happy endings, and the plot makes a kind of sense. I always thought it was ironic that manga, which dealt with entire populations having the potential for supernatural abilities of unreal proportion, was both more and less realistic about life and death. The unreal stupidity you see in the Magical World didn't exist, because new powers didn't suddenly turn sanity on its head."

"They never had characters that didn't _stay_ dead, they were just really hard to kill in the first place. In comic books, "dead" characters came back to life all the time, but so many of them had meaningless deaths. In manga, every death had a reason, a purpose. There wasn't just another body in the bag. I really liked that idea - still do.'

Rose just smiled and poked him in the head with two fingers. "That's really a noble sentiment – totally you – but we really should stop getting off topic so often. We'll work on mental skills for a while, then switch to motor skills. I figure that in a year's time, you should have the basics of meditating and moving down well enough to work on other things as well, like magic. Petunia is coming now, so I'll be going. Goodbye, foolish little brother. You are prophesied to do… stuff."

Harry just mock-glared in her direction for a second before that last word registered. 'Prophecies. Neville. Oh, shit, the Longbottoms!'

A huge burst of magic left Harry's body in the form of a stag, blazing away to find the Longbottoms and warn them of the impending doom that might still be averted.

November 1st, 1981 – Somewhere outside Little Whinging

A brilliant stag stopped in mid-travel and split four ways. Two continued on towards Blackpool. Another went towards Little Baddow while the final went to London.

In Blackpool, the Longbottoms were having a day of remembrance for their friends, the Potters. They hadn't gotten to know the other couple as well as they would have liked – the war didn't easily allow for social gatherings – but the shared burden of a prophesy hanging over their head had brought the two families together. Alice was sitting with Neville in a little chair when a silvery stag burst into the room and called out in the frantic voice of James Potter, "They are coming! Take Neville and run or call all the help you can get right now!"

"Frank there's trouble! Get down here now!" It was the work of an instant to send out a Patronus to each of the fighters she knew – Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Mad-Eye Moody, Amelia Bones, Sirius Black and Albus Dumbledore. A moment later, a flock of Patroni from her husband flew out, likely for the same cause. Frank came into the room a few seconds later. "You got the stag message, too?"

Alice nodded. "Remember the time James came over and showed us the form as a security question? It looked just like him and sounded like him too!"

Frank shook his head. "But honey, it couldn't be. You heard what everyone is saying. Dumbledore even confirmed it! James and Lily died today, and Harry's been taken to a safe place!"

Alice's face took on a fierce look. "I know that voice, Frank! You know it, too! What can you definitely tell me about magic? Can you tell me that it is _impossible_ for the dead to send a message, even if they can't come back to life? No, there is far too much that _can't be explained._ That's why it's called bloody _magic_ and not science! Not even Dumbledore knows _everything_ there is to know about magic. What's his favorite saying?"

Frank sighed, before letting a small smile pop up on his face. "Magic is a mysterious thing. That's what Dumbledore says."

Alice nodded, her determination bubbling over. "Right now we've got a message from a dead friend telling us to get ready. If he says they're coming… well it's like Moody likes to put it. 'It's not paranoia if they're really out ta' get you.' We need to get ready and fast. Hopefully, the rest can get here in time, but we've held off Voldemort before. A few damn lieutenants without the element of the surprise sure as hell aren't taking me from my wee bairn, by 'tunder!"

Were it not for the situation, Frank could have kissed her. Alice was so hot when she got fierce like that. James used to joke that she unleashed her inner McGonnaggal. Lily would joke that she read too many old stories about the Celtic warriors of old and a bit too much Tolkien. Frank just thought it was her badger instinct. 'Although it's more like wolverine, in her case.'

The two of them worked quickly to fortify their house and place Neville in a safe spot where he couldn't be used as a hostage or distraction. Dumbledore arrived not long after, quickly working to improve upon their efforts. The rest arrived one by one and added their own parts. Moody just kept his Eye peeled. Then they waited. It wasn't ten minutes after they had finished before there was faint hum, an attempt to break the small house's wards undetected.

Like they Potters, the Longbottoms had decided to try for being less conspicuous in a small house. This way, they could fight to their heart's content without worrying about damaging family relics. It also made it harder to find them since the main house was in lockdown. Unlike the Potters, the Longbottoms had taken the time to erect formidable wards.

In the five minutes it took the Death Eaters to dismantle the wards, the Longbottoms and their allies had gotten in position to work their advantage. When the Lestranges, Crouch, Rosier and Rookwood burst through the door, they were in for a nasty surprise. The six of them were captured without casualties, although Rookwood nearly took off one of Moody's legs in a surprise attack after they thought he was bound. Fortunately Dumbledore blocked the spell. Moody had used the ambush and surprise at the end as a reminder to always maintain "Constant Vigilance!"

Two months later, the Prewett twins were saved from their own ambush by the Longbottoms.


	3. Chapter 3 - Running a Mind Isn't Easy

A/N: To all those that have reviewed so far thank you. To those that haven't yet, please do so! On a side note, I'll let the soul mates remain mostly a surprise.

Disclaimer: It's not mine.

Chapter Three – Running a Mind Isn't Easy… Worth It!

November 2nd, 1981 – Number 4, Privet Drive

Harry awoke more exhausted than he could remember being in many years. It was obvious that his magic had been taxed well beyond what should have been possible by the Patronus he had sent out to warn of the Longbottom attack. 'The Longbottoms!'

"Calm down Harry; the Longbottoms are fine. Your little trick worked like… well, a charm." Rose was grinning _very_ proudly down at Harry from her floating position above him, pulling a smile out of baby Harry. "Oh, you're just so _cute_ when you grin like that! If I can just make sure you get enough food in you, you're sure to actually be a lady killer this time. For now you'll just be an _old_ lady killer."

'Yeah, laugh it up all you want. I feel better now than I have since I stopped Riddle and the basilisk in second year. Man, that's a _rush_ - no wonder I had such a saving people thing. When everything works out, it's like a high you just can't come down from!'

Harry was grinning so hard it would've hurt if he cared to notice. As it was, Rose found it infectious. The two were soon laughing and giggling hysterically at each other, imagining the looks on the Alice and Frank's faces when they saw Prongs.

"Well, you've done great for your first day back, Harry. You won't believe how much good this will do. Not only did you take out the Lestranges and Crouch, but you also managed to get Avery and Rookwood caught. Avery was the guy that took Moody's leg last time, but Rookwood was an even bigger boon. He had helped corroborate a few of the Death Eater claims that said they were under the Imperius. With him out of the picture, a _lot_ more gold is going to have to change hands to keep them out." Harry's face indicated the disbelief he felt that they might still get away with it. "He might be the only Unspeakable Death Eater, but he wasn't the only Unspeakable supporter. This way, however, they can't counter threat to expose the Dark Mark. Well done, indeed, Harry!"

Harry was still very pleased that he managed to save Neville from being raised by his Gran. The woman was a harridan an order of magnitude worse than the Weasley matriarch at her worst. Her age had given her the immoveable stubbornness infamous in the elderly while taking away what remained of her common sense. It had taken Neville five years to come out of her shadow, and another two to fully come into his own. Although Neville never admitted it, he held a lot of resentment towards his grandmother.

'So, what will we be doing for now? I know you mentioned a few things, but where should I start?'

"For starters, _you_ aren't going to be doing much of anything until your magic recovers. You're lucky that Fate plays fast and loose with the rules. You ended up pulling most of the power for it out of the wards Dumbledore set up, so they're feeding off of your magic at an accelerated rate right now. Until that slows down, you're going to need to lay off anything magic intensive and just eat and sleep. With both your body and magic on bed rest until further notice, we'll go ahead and start in on your mind."

Harry groaned. 'Do we really have to start that now? I've gone twenty years without needing to study Occlumency, and I'm just fine.'

Rose scowled at him. "We've been over this Harry. You _need_ to have top notch mental shields if you want to keep this secret from Dumbledore. Well-meaning or not, that man wouldn't know a good plan if it bit him in the ass. If he finds out your mind isn't what he needs, he'll obliviate you and start over. He didn't mess around as much last time because he didn't have to. Your mind was an open book to him, and it showed the Gryffindor hero every time. That's not the case anymore, so we need to get it going."

"On top of that, those shields were rudimentary at best. They were natural shields that prevented surface skimming, and it took you thirty years to get that far. They won't stop any determined Legilimens, and they might as well be paper before Dumbledore or Snape. Snape was doing a half-assed job when he attacked you because that was usually all he needed. Every once in a while you would surprise him, but that was it. You want to keep him out of your head? Get. This. Down."

'Couldn't I just refuse to let them do it and shield against the spell? It worked against Snape, and I've definitely got more power than both of them. It'd probably work.'

Rose reached down and pushed her hand through Harry's head. Suddenly he felt like Hermione had taken a rolled up newspaper and whacked him several times. "No! You're going to do this right. Not only could they easily curse you in the back and bypass that little plan of yours, but I said so! Don't argue! _You_ agreed to start doing this the right way instead of the easy way. This is the first step. It will help you in your studies and in your magic."

Harry ducked his head. 'Sorry, Rose, it's just so easy to take the simple route around this problem. I know it doesn't leave me prepared, but it's an old habit of mine. I wasn't as bad as Ron, I guess, but it was really easy to adapt his habits when I was around him so much. I've had it since I went to Hogwarts.'

"You didn't have it as bad before Hogwarts. It must have been one of Snape's spells. You were reading your textbooks before school started, and you always wanted to know. It made it easier to deal." She sighed. "You're going to have to fight that habit of taking the easy way out of any situation. It's worked out a lot in dueling, but magic isn't a substitute for life. Occlumency should help you find that suggestion and pull it out of your mind, piece by piece. It'll be really weird, though, because a number of decisions will look crazy without that motivation."

Harry got a funny look on his face as a thought came to him. 'I've always wondered something. Is it Occlu_men_cy or Occlu_man_cy?'

Rose snorted. "Occlu_men_cy is the art of defending the mind. Occlu_man_cy is the art of erecting magical barriers. It's all in the Latin – _mens _from the Latin root for mind versus _mancy _from the modernized Latin for magic of various kinds. Learn your Latin and you're good for these types of things. There's still some magic to protecting the mind, so I guess you could say Occlumency is a branch subject, but Occlumancy is about things like wards, seals and other things of that nature. You're not the first to wonder about that, and nitpickers will argue, but they're really pretty separate."

'Finally! Me and Ron used to argue back and forth on that. Hermione would always roll her eyes. It puzzled me why she wouldn't get involved in something like this.' With that he settled in to learn. 'So what should I do first. Snape mostly just told me to clear my mind, so I had to figure out how to keep him out on my own, and that's no good. Most of the time I just made sure not to make eye contact with him, now that I think about it. I guess those surface shields might not have even been as good as I thought.'

"No, they really weren't. Alright Harry, I'm going to start off with a really simple exercise. I want you to imagine a roaring flame in your mind. I want you to feed every stray thought into that flame until no more come. Just keep doing it for a while; I'll know when you don't have any more thoughts coming. Once you get to the point that no more thoughts are coming, we'll move on to the next step."

Harry spent the next few hours trying to fill the flame with all of his stray thoughts. Every time he thought it was ready, another few thoughts would come into his mind, breaking the focus. It was nearly mid-day by the time Harry had cleared his mind of all thought.

"Alright, Harry, I can tell that you don't have any more thoughts flying in. I want you to extinguish that flame. Just let that darkness surround you like a blanket. Immerse yourself in the void created by the lack of flame." Harry's face was so serene that anyone who didn't know better would say he was asleep. "This, Harry, is what a cleared mind feels like. The exercise I just taught you is known as the Flame and the Void. I want you to practice this every day as long as feels comfortable. When you can enter that clear state within a minute, we will move to the next step. For now, familiarize yourself with this feeling."

Time Skip

December 1st, 1981

Harry had spent the past month practicing the Flame and the Void. It had only been in the past few days that his mental proficiency had grown to Rose's satisfaction. They were ready to move on to the next step – organizing Harry's mind.

"Alright Harry, I want you to clear your mind. You're not done practicing that, by the way. I want you to get to the point that it is instantaneous. Not only is it a good tool for focus, but it will also help you control your temper around the likes of Malfoy when you can't do something about it immediately. Tell me when you're clear."

It took only a minute for Harry to clear his mind. 'Alright, Rose, I'm clear for takeoff.'

"Not funny, Harry, but unfortunately a poor sense of humor is beyond even my skills. You are doomed to forever be unfunny. May the Force be with you, mirthless one." Harry and Rose both snorted at the thought of Sirius dressed up like Yoda. Why they chose him, neither knew. "Anyway, I want you to look through the Void. You need to find your mind; it will be the link to your core. Don't be discouraged if you can't find it in the first few sessions; Occlumency isn't easy. There's a reason most don't study it. By the time anyone is advanced enough to practice, they don't have the time. You're lucky there."

Harry tried for the next two hours to find it, but could not. The frustration mounted until he lost his focus on the Void. Admitting defeat for the moment, Harry pulled out of his mind. 'I'm starting to see what you meant about it taking time. It's taken a month for me to get even this far. This is going take a while.'

"It's okay to go slow, Harry. There's no need to learn right now. Just take it easy. Let's do something else for a bit." She settled herself Indian style on the floor. "So Harry, what do you want to talk about for now? I'm sure there are still things you don't quite understand about the situation you're in right now."

Harry shook his head. 'So far, I've contented myself with focusing on Occlumency to keep myself from getting frustrated by what I don't understand. I think my two biggest questions are about the Weasleys. Was Ron really my friend, or was he just in it for the fame? Where did the rest of the Weasleys stand on that question?'

"That's actually a surprisingly simple question. At first, all of them were surprised by you. The fame attracted them at first, but it was really the same for everyone you met because you'd been gone so long. No one had a chance to know you without the stigma of your name, so yes it did color your initial meetings with people in the Wizarding World. That being said, the Weasleys _stuck by you_ because they _liked_ _you_. You had the same simple values that they focused on. Family and friends came first, then came honor and then justice. Each individual had their own reasons to stay friends."

"Ron liked you because he could have fun with you without expectations. The twins thought you were cool for making the team and got to know you. Ginny had a crush on the Boy-Who-Lived until the end of your first year. She started getting a crush on _you_ in the summer before your second year. Her feelings really were genuine, and I imagine saving her only made it worse. You actually made her a fifth soul mate by the end of your relationship. The Bond Department Head... I laughed so hard when I saw his face. He was muttering something about 'blondes pranking from the grave'. Not sure why he said that, though."

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley grew to care for you a great deal when you saved Ginny. The years following only solidified that bond. The rest of the Weasleys were simply impressed by your interactions with the younger four children, minus Percy. Percy was kind of a special case, though. He always felt a bit like a Loki in Asgard. He just didn't fit in, preferring to a silver tongue to a steel sword."

The two of them were quiet for a while, Rose just letting Harry think in peace. Harry was taking the time to think about his relationships with each of the Weasleys. Ron and Harry had grown apart in the later years of the war; it had hurt to watch the close bond they once held fade. They still felt like family, but it was more like what Bill shared with his younger siblings. Contrarily Ginny and Harry had grown closer to one another, even when their relationship broke on and off. She was one of the people Harry felt he could talk to about the guilt he felt for not finishing the war earlier.

The twins… the two of them had died in an ambush in the middle years of the war. Voldemort had been quiet following a serious depletion of his forces, and the Order had been able to get some much needed time to themselves. Things were still on edge because they knew Voldemort was out there, but there had been smiles and laughs for the first time since the last lull. Fred and George had been on a supply run to smaller market in Dublin when Death Eaters had ambushed them. The duo holed up for an hour, but Voldemort had Dementors delay the Patronus calls. They took out twenty before they died.

Bill and Fleur had been a source of much comfort in the days following. Bill had taken Harry aside when he was feeling especially down to tell stories of the twins antics when they were younger and the trouble they had gotten into with Mrs. Weasley. Fleur, on the other hand, had been a wise ear to call on when Harry felt lonely or perplexed by the women in his life. She didn't judge him – much – and patiently answered Harry's questions about whatever trouble he had inadvertently gotten himself into.

Percy hadn't become very close with Harry until a few years before his death. They had resolved their differences many years before, but the closeness Harry had – at one point or another – shared with the other Weasleys just wasn't there. It had taken a nasty argument about politics and family for the two to realize they could understand one another.

Percy had always felt bad that he couldn't do more for the family when he was younger. He had resented Bill and Charlie for 'leaving the family high and dry'. His ambition was part of what drove him to the Ministry. When the Weasleys resented him joining the Ministry, Percy felt betrayed. Harry had felt a bit irritated with Percy for leaving the family back then, not realizing the conflict the young boy had faced. They had gotten much closer after that, and Harry wouldn't hear of anyone giving Percy a hard time.

Charlie and Harry had gotten a huge surprise the first time a Horntail started cussing Charlie out for making him cook the meat himself. Harry had fallen off the rock he was perched on to laugh at the language the dragon was direction at the poor dragon lover. Although Harry had never gotten one of them to let him ride on their back, he had gotten several new ways to cuss out the Death Eaters he ran into. The two had many a good laugh about the faces of enemies as Harry insulted their grandfathers 'soft stools'.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had grown to see Harry as one of their own. Harry had finally taken the time to explain some basic muggle terminology to Arthur after a particularly embarrassing inquiry on 'Diddlies' and 'Comdoms'. Many red faces and a bottle of fire whiskey later, the two had bonded on a new level and resolved to talk more often about Arthur's fascination with all things Muggle… and much less on sex.

Harry, in exchange, began to ask Arthur about the obscure wizard customs and knowledge he had missed out on as a child. Molly, on the other hand, had simply become another mother. She and Harry had taken many an afternoon to talk about cooking and bake a few experimental concoctions on the kitchen stove.

Harry sighed and pulled himself out of reminiscing. To his surprise, Harry felt an incredible sense of peace settle over him as his faith in the Weasleys was affirmed. Their meeting might have been a set up, but the love had been all too real. It felt good to have some family, even if they held no link to Harry's past. The time spent had settled the agitation in his mind, and Harry was ready to try for his core again.

December 15th, 1981 – Downtown London

The Dursleys had decided to go out for Christmas. While it was clear that they were wary of Harry's possible abilities, the couple wasn't about to let it keep them closed up for holidays. They had taken Harry and Dudley with them to a restaurant in London. It had been a pretty good time for the foursome, minus a few small hiccups. Dudley had thrown a fit for some dessert and gotten it. Harry had been very messy with his dessert and made sure to smile at his relatives for the piece of cake. The four of them were on their way out to the car when the unexpected happened.

A man stepped out of the shadows and pulled a gun on Petunia and Dudley. Harry, who was toddling behind them, bumped into Vernon's legs when the man stopped in obvious fear. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing you ruffian. Get out of here before I pummel you for threatening my-"

The man had placed his gun in Vernon's face, and a red glow emanated from the barrel as he pulled the trigger. When nothing happened, he beat Vernon across the side of the head with it to buy time. He pulled out another gun and pulled the trigger to the same end, the glow taking effect a second time before Petunia's eyes. Harry chose this moment to step forward. Desparately clearing his mind, Harry made his wishes known to his magic as he shoved his arms forward. "You bad! Go 'way!"

With an almighty bang, the would-be mugger was launched a good forty feet into a brick wall, the two guns clattering uselessly to the ground. Vernon, who had been coming around, turned to see Harry suddenly plop tiredly onto his tush. He looked from Harry to the man now imbedded in a brick storefront across the street then back to Harry. "You're getting a nice present for that one, Harry."

"Prezzie, prezzie! Happy prezzie fo' Hawy!" Having had a lot of fun, Harry played along and acted his age, making his exhaustion known. "Oooooh, I tiiiiiired, Unca Vunun."

Vernon ruffled his hair as his breathing evened out. "Yes, Harry, happy presents. We need to get the bobbies here first, then we can go home and sleep, little tyke."

Fifteen minutes later, the police showed up and took Vernon's altered statement. Of course, they had to alter their tale to avoid the exposure of magic. In their story, Vernon had managed to lay the drunk out with a strong punch to the stomach before moving his family across the street. The most baffling part had been the two guns the man had pulled. According to the police, and as they demonstrated, both guns were in perfect working order and should have fired. It was deemed an early Christmas miracle.

Harry's life at the Dursleys was changed forever. He'd saved their lives, and Vernon knew it without a shadow of a doubt. If launching the man across the street wasn't enough, the fact that both guns had utterly failed to fire was more than enough proof. He'd seen the glow from the first one, and there was no mistaking that for anything but magic. Vernon Dursley was diligent to stay out of debt, and he wasn't about to stop being that way now. He might disapprove of having no support money for the… for Harry, but he owed his family's lives to the small boy. Yes, things would be quite different. He'd show the boy the care he truly deserved. On the way home, he discussed it with his wife.

"Petunia, I know you and your sister had their disagreements, but I think it's time to put that behind us. We aren't going to favor him over Dudley, but we don't need to make our favor for Dudley any more blatant, either. We owe him the chance to have love in his life. He saved me, and he might have saved you and Dudley as well. Who knows what a man like that would do to you with me out of the picture?!"

Petunia was silent. She _had_ resented her sister greatly for what had happened in their childhood. It had hurt to watch any achievement get passed over for the shock-and-awe dazzle that her sister could achieve. Still, she could see where Dudley's behavior was going. It wouldn't hurt to give Harry more support if he could teach her Dudley about being nice. She _wasn't_ going to show him more than he earned, however.

"Very well, Vernon, I'll do my best to care for the boy like I do for Dudley. I'm not going to encourage that magic any more, though. It saved our lives, but I've seen it do… strange things as well when Lily started to throw a tantrum. I don't want him trying to scare us with it."

"I promise pet, if it looks like he's trying to scare us with magic, I'll set him straight. My father taught me respect for authority, and I'd be remiss to do any less for him or Dudley. They'll learn to mind you and me when we speak. That being said, having fun with magic is no harm, eh? It might be something for him and Dudley to play with if they want to."

Meanwhile in his room, Harry was contemplating the ease with which he had dealt with that mugger. It had been exhausting for sure, but the ease with which he had made it happen was intriguing. This bore investigating. If Harry could replicate it, he might be able to eventually perform wandless magic. That would make killing the Death Eaters and Voldemort much easier

Following that line of thought, Harry pursued another. He recalled, even to this day, the moment he finally got his head on straight in the war. It had been about a year after the First Battle of Hogwarts, and Harry had begun his training in non-magical fighting. Geoffrey Bridges, or Ironsides as he liked to be called, had been born in London but raised in Brazil for much of his life. The subject of Harry's destiny to kill Voldemort had come with his Jiu-jitsu trainer, Geoffrey Bridges. His response was shocking.

Flashback

_THWACK! Harry went down from a strike to the side of the head. He shook himself and turned to see a red-faced Ironsides with his fists clenched. The man reached his hand down, which Harry took while asking, "The bloody hell was that for?"_

_THWACK! Another punch caught him in the gut. Now Harry was confused. He'd rarely angered anyone to the point that he apparently had done to Ironsides, and the man didn't look quite ready to back down. Harry slowly got up on his own, holding out both hands to stave off further attack. "Alright, I obviously said _something _to piss you off like this. Would you mind explaining it?"_

"_I don't take kindly to those that impugn the honor of my family, Harry Potter."_

_Harry stared. "…Come again?"_

"_My father, my grandfather, my uncles, my brothers, even my bloody _littlesister – _all of them served in the Queen's Army, Navy or Air Force. I don't take kindly to you talking about them like that."_

"_Like what?"_

"_Calling them murderers. Not a _one_ of them was a murderer, and I'll kick your arse _to hell and back_ if you try to imply that again!"_

"_What the hell gave you the idea I thought of your family as murderers? We don't even hardly _talk _about your family, or mine for that matter! When did I say as much?"_

"_You called yourself a murderer, so you're calling all of them murderers."_

"_I _am _going to be a murderer! I have to kill Voldemort!"_

"_You're not a damn murderer any more than they are, so shut up! They've _all_ killed in defense of God and country, but that _doesn't_ make them a murderer. It just makes them a life-taker and a soldier. They put their damn life on the line every day, and I _don't _appreciate you trying to taint that."_

"_In the Bible – I figure that's what you're most familiar with – God said thou shalt not murder. He couldn't have said thou shalt not kill, because he ordained wars several times. That's a mistranslation. Killing isn't the same as murder in _any _language. You can look it up, but every language has a separate word for each, because every sane civilization in _history_ understood the difference. Murder is killing with no other motivation than to take that life. You aren't defending or protecting anything when you murder, nor are you hunting. Get it straight."_

"_Killing is a necessity to survival, because sometimes it's just kill or be killed. You ever kill an animal that attacked you? That's self-defense, not murder. You kill a man that attacks your house? That's self-defense, not murder. You shoot a man that threatens the survival of your family and country? That's self-defense, not fucking murder. I don't give a damn what the laws say. You don't need a license to kill when you're defending your home. That's just good for avoiding court expenses. Real life has a _different_ set of rules, end of story."_

"_So, unless you start going around eating _nothing_ for the rest of your life, life-taker means you too. Everyone, from the oldest soldier to the youngest babe takes life every day to live and survive. Plants have life, after all, but I don't see you fussing every time you eat a salad or walk on the grass. There's a lot more to murder than just taking a life, so I'd be careful bandying that word about if I were you."_

_Harry just sat and stared at the man. He was right_. _He was _right._ Harry wasn't a murderer for having to take Voldemort's life, and he had more than just his own misplaced guilt to think about here. People were getting killed by the man _every day_. Harry wasn't a murderer… because Voldemort _deserved to die. _There wasn't a single person on his side that would say otherwise, either. Harry would be an accessory to murderer if he _refused _to kill Voldemort, not the other way around._

_Most of Voldemort's _servants_ were on the to-kill list, too! They didn't _all_ get pressured into this. _Most_ of them didn't pressured into this, if their battle strategy was anything to go by! This _wasn't_ murder, and it _wasn't_ assassination. It was _war, _and almost every religion in the world had a time to _fight_, a time to _kill_._

_Buddhists didn't ever kill – as far as he knew they didn't – but those guys lived in the mountains. They didn't exactly have too many things that they _needed _to kill. Most animals would back off if another showed dominance, so their martial arts and weapons were enough. Harry wondered what would happen if they were ever faced with a dragon. Would they just leave their temple, or would they try to defend it to their own deaths… or _would_ they kill it? The _dragon_ sure wasn't going to go down for anything less than its own death, and Harry wouldn't claim he was an expert on religion either._

_These were thoughts for another time, however. Harry had an apology to make. He smiled at Ironsides. "Thanks for that, Ironsides. I needed a swift kick in pants. And I apologize for insulting your family like that. It's not my place to judge those that just defend their own differently than I do."_

"_Apology accepted. I kind of figured you were being an idiot anyway. Your friends say you lead a pretty 'sheltered' life, and by that I mean sheltered from most forms of common sense. It's pretty much expected you'll be a special brand of idiot more often than others. And it was actually more of a punch to the head, but if a kick works better I'll try it," the man replied with a laugh._

Flashback End

Harry smiled; he had grown quite fond of the man in the course of their training. He had grown closer with all of his trainers, actually. Each had their own bits of wisdom to give Harry – some more than others – and he appreciated all of it. Muggles might have a different sort of common sense than wizards, but that didn't make it any less valid. 'Sad to kill Voldemort? _I_ claim the Imperius Defense.'

(**A**uthor's **R**ant) A/R: This last bit was dedicated to every story in which Harry worried about being a murderer up through _the end of the story_. For all ye who enter my world, muggle sense reigns supreme. I imagine only being exposed to wizards (who don't have a standing army), Harry never had to understand the concept of killing _in defense of one's own_. Wizards have so many forms of take-down that killing isn't anathema so much as mostly unnecessary. I always suspected Dumbledore's influence might have had a lot to do with the whole 'don't kill thine enemy' nonsense… I _also_ suspect it had a lot to do with where Rowling wanted to take things and it being a children's series through book five.

I mean come on – Dumbledore dies, Moody dies, Snape dies, Colin dies, Fred dies, _Hedwig bloody dies_, but Malfoy _lives!?_ That _had _to be as much about peer pressure thanks to his actor's popularity as any common sense in the book. He isn't even confirmed to have gone to _prison,_ for goodness sake! I imagine if his father hadn't been treated so poorly after book five, Malfoy wouldn't have made _any_ sort of turn-around in book six! AAAAUGH! … Although Filch lived, too, so I guess Rowling just sucks hard.

A/N: On a finer note, I've really been waiting for a reasonable event to help Harry out at the Dursleys, and this seems to be it. Between eliminating the cursed vases and this good deed, Harry should see quite the upswing in his Dursley home life. On the down side, it means he won't have as much reason to visit the Weasleys as often, but on the upside, that might translate to actually visiting Hermione's house – or even other people outside the Trio – once in the course of the story. Only seeing Malfoy's house? Bitch, please. (Cough-canon sucks Draco's tiny balls-Cough)

In case you haven't noticed, I don't like the Malfoys. By the end of this story, you won't either. Leather-pants Draco-lovers beware. The only leather pants he'll be wearing will be in Azkaban with Bubba. Malfoy and Filch will be every bit the villains they were in books one through five, and Harry won't be inclined to change that after what happened. The family made their choice differently in my book seven.

I won't be giving Narcissa that ridiculous out she got in canon, in case you're wondering where the pity went later on. She'll have to make an actual decision for or against her husband and son on moral grounds rather than on blood grounds, and I'm not sure it will go against. Some things will be up to poll votes, but moral choices will be my call – I'm saying that now.


End file.
